Westwood was en route to Augusta after completing his final round at the Shell Houston Open on Sunday. He was accompanied by his manager, Chubby Chandler, fellow Ryder Cup player Ross Fisher and their caddies.
The group were alerted to the danger by a strong smell of smoke in the cabin and turned to see the pilots reaching for breathing apparatus.
A sense of panic spread as the captain informed the passengers the plane was required to land before putting the craft into a steep dive.
The plane eventually landed safely and was met on the tarmac by firefighters, who evacuated the passengers immediately and returned them to the terminal.
“We were a couple of minutes out of the airport,” Westwood said. “It was a bit scary. It never looks good when you can smell smoke and you turn round and see the pilots have put the masks on.
“The smoke was coming from the cockpit, and they told us later they couldn’t drop our masks because they feed oxygen into the cabin, and if there was a fire it would have fanned the flames.
"The plane came down in a bit of a nosedive because you obviously have to get down as quick as you can. There had been a small fire somewhere in the instruments, and we had the three fire tenders chasing us down the runaway, but I think that’s just a precaution.”
The group resumed their journey later on Sunday night and Westwood was able to continue his preparations in a fourball yesterday with Henrik Stenson, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Jose-Maria Olazabal.
He added: “That happened to me once before, in Switzerland, because the landing gear hadn’t come down properly. I was having a bit of a chuckle about it afterwards because I’d come off the 18th green steaming after ripping the ball all day and then sticking my ball in the water on 18.”
Westwood managed to find the humour in this latest episode, joking that the flames had not come off his putter. “After missing a stack of putts I thought that was the perfect way to end a rotten day. But it hadn’t ended yet. I knew it wasn’t my putter on fire in the hold or anything like that!
“I was all right, but Ross and Billy [Foster, Westwood’s caddie] didn’t look too good. Billy crossed himself a couple of times and he looked terrified when we went into the nosedive.”
Westwood had struggled all week on the Houston greens, claiming after his final round that he had turned a possible course record 62 into a 68 with his profligacy.
Since his irons and the driver were working as efficiently as ever it was put to Westwood that the in-flight drama from Houston might prompt him to change the flat stick. Not a bit of it. “No, it’s in the bag. I’m going to use it this week. It can only get better.”
Westwood is third favourite to win the tournament behind Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, who are due to arrive at Augusta National on Tuesday. He followed British three-ball Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose out on to the course in the afternoon as the temperatures soared into the eighties.
With forecasters promising high temperatures all week, the hardening greens will become a furnace by Sunday, threatening yet further trials by fire.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/mastersaugusta/8427879/The-Masters-2011-Lee-Westwood-shaken-as-fire-drama-forces-his-plane-to-make-emergency-landing.html
Augusta Welcomes Golfers for Masters 2011 Tournament
Each year from April to August, every top golf pro convenes to face off in the four most prestigious golf championships in the world: The Majors. It all starts with the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, and the season for inspiring golf is upon us once again. The Masters 2011 event officially kicks off today, with practice rounds and press conferences through tomorrow from all of the masters of golf competing in this year’s golf tournament including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson – along with golf pro legend Jack Nicklaus who is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his sixth Masters golf tournament victory back in 1986.
Experts are clamoring to speculate on who will emerge victorious at the Masters 2011 and there are a couple of names on everyone’s minds. Phil Mickelson is coming to the Masters 2011 hot off of a spectacular showing at the Houston Open, winning by a cool three stroke margin and shooting to #3 in the official World Golf Ranking just behind fellow golf pro contenders Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood. With Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood also entered in the Masters 2011 tournament, we should see some hot competition.
Tiger Woods has also been getting a lot of mention leading up to the Masters 2011 tournament, but for all the wrong reasons. Today ESPN’s Page 2 blog expressed major doubts over Tiger Woods and his potential at the Masters 2011, noting that over the weekend Woods slipped to seventh place in world golf rankings – his lowest point since 1997. It’s clear that Woods has let his personal life interfere with his golf game, and every underwhelming golf tournament performance is another nail in his professional coffin. We’ll be tuning in this week to see if Tiger Woods finds redemption on the greens at the Masters 2011.
Are you not in Augusta already with your grandstand seats reserved? Don’t worry, there’s still time to get there without missing the action. The real meat and potatoes part of the Masters 2011 golf tournament starts on Thursday, when the pros tee off for round one.
http://www.execdigital.com/lifestyle/entertainment/augusta-welcomes-golfers-masters-2011-tournament
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